Effects of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation With Sensory Modulation on Stroke Motor Rehabilitation: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Objective: To test whether a multistrategy intervention enhanced recovery immediately and longitudinally in patients with severe to moderate upper extremity (UE) paresis.

Design: Double-blind, randomized controlled trial with placebo control.

Setting: Outpatient department of a local medical center.

Participants: People (N=25) with chronic stroke were randomly assigned to 1 of 2 groups: a transcranial direct current stimulation with sensory modulation (tDCS-SM) group (n=14; mean age ± SD, 55.3±11.4y) or a control group (n=11; mean age ± SD, 56.9±13.5y).

Interventions: Eight-week intervention. The tDCS-SM group received bilateral tDCS, bilateral cutaneous anesthesia, and high repetitions of passive movements on the paretic hand. The control group received the same passive movements but with sham tDCS and sham anesthesia. During the experiment, all participants continued their regular rehabilitation.

Main Outcome Measures: Voluntary UE movement, spasticity, UE function, and basic activities of daily living. Outcomes were assessed at baseline, at postintervention, and at 3- and 6-month follow-ups.

Results: No significant differences were found between groups. However, there was a trend that the voluntary UE movement improved more in the tDCS-SM group than in the control group, with a moderate immediate effect (partial η [η]=.14, P=.07) and moderate long-term effects (3-mo follow-up: η=.17, P=.05; 6-mo follow-up: η=.12, P=.10). Compared with the control group, the tDCS-SM group had a trend of a small immediate effect (η=.02-.04) on reducing spasticity, but no long-term effect. A trend of small immediate and long-term effects in favor of tDCS-SM was found on UE function and daily function recovery (η=.02-.09).

Conclusions: Accompanied with traditional rehabilitation, tDCS-SM had a nonsignificant trend of having immediate and longitudinal effects on voluntary UE movement recovery in patients with severe to moderate UE paresis after stroke, but its effects on spasticity reduction and functional recovery may be limited.